Copyright Infringement Portal

Online piracy is a persistent concern for the publishing industry. Offenses range from websites offering infringing copies of works to download, through peer-to-peer file sharing of infringing copies and password bootlegging, to the commercial sale of counterfeit copies of publications. Some of the most commonly pirated university press titles are those designed for course use.

The Publishers Association (PA) of the UK has worked to develop a Copyright Infringement Portal to help publishers and trade associations tackle these threats in an appropriate and effective manner. The PA is offering AAUP members a 50% discount to use this anti-piracy tool.

The portal's greatest importance may be the industry-wide benefits accrued by sharing information about infringements, take-down requests, and responses. The portal allows publishers to take action—collating intelligence information to inform an array of industry responses including licensing, litigation, and lobbying. The portal builds up a database, through all users' input, of chronic and repeat infringers so that good cases can be made for government action as well.

Other benefits of using the Copyright Infringement Portal include:

• An easy and efficient way to generate take-down notices. Rather than each publisher correctly identifying the relevant internet service provider, drafting an appropriate legal notice, and issuing this to the correct address the portal does each of these steps automatically.
• An easy and efficient way to monitor responses to take-down notices. A quick glance will let you know whether the take-down has been achieved. A user-friendly 'traffic light' system of green, amber, and red icons is used throughout the portal.

The portal currently issues take-down notices for both copyrights and territorial rights. Later this year the PA aims to develop the portal to extend its ability to issue notices related to peer-to-peer file sharing. The PA is also developing an automated detection service for publishers who use the Copyright Infringement Portal.

To use the portal, AAUP members must register at http://www.aaup.copyrightinfringementportal.com. A demonstration site is available there, along with a Users Guide, to answer many questions about the portal.

The cost to use the portal depends on the publisher's annual turnover. Due to the special partnership arrangement between AAUP and the PA, rates for AAUP members are: